Centrifugal clothes driers



March 14, 1961 v. H. HOBBS 2,974,423

CENTRIFUGAL CLOTHES DRIERS Filed May 27, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/G Q I 26 3 27 25 @o 4 O ii T F p T T 2 57 36 i 1 2 4/ T 5 C(-\ q I k 50] 23 6 i Mm d '1 0"0u 08030 03020 45 i l Inventor VERNON H. HOBBS.

Attorney 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 27, 1958 Inventor VERNON H. HoBBs. @iimmfim Attorney CENTRIFUGAL CLOTHES ninnns Vernon Harrison Hobbs, Exmouth, England, assignor to 'llhelrmair Domestic Appliances Limited, London, Eng- Filed May 27, 1958, Ser. No. 738,238

4 Claims. (Cl. 34-58) This invention comprises improvements relating to centrifugal clothes driers.

It has been found in practice with such driers as is at present in domestic use, that the drier has a tendency to move about the floor on which it is standing, owing to the vibration set up by the revolving basket in which the clothes to be dried is located. Furthermore, if the clothes are not packed in said basket so that their weight is evenly distributed, the amount of vibration is accelerated and thereby the movement of the drier on the floor.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a simple arrangement for stabilizing the rotary basket in the drier and reducing to a minimum any vibration which can be set up by the rotary basket and the consequent movement of the drier.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become clear hereinafter as the characteristic features of construction and mode of operation of my centrifugal clothes drier are described in detail.

Referring to the accompany drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a centrifugal clothes drier according to this invention, and

Figure 2 is a section at 22 in Figure 1.

In carrying the present invention into practice as shown upon the accompanying drawings, the casing 5 is divided into two compartments, 6, 7, with a pedestal part 8. The lower compartment 7 providing a housing for the electric .motor 9, whilst the pedestal part 8 which forms a closure to the lower end of the motor compartment 7 has secured thereto depending legs 10, the lower ends of which have bonded or otherwise secured thereto rubber shock absorbing blocks 11.

The partition 12 dividing the two compartments 6, 7 in the casing 5 has an upturned lip 13 surrounding the aperture 14 formed thereon for the purpose of facilitating the collection of water on said plate, which is arranged to pass away through the aperture 15 in the casing 5 to which is secured the outlet spout 16.

The electrtic motor 9 is resiliently mounted at its lower end on a rubber or like block 17 which is secured to a spider 18, which in turn is attached to the anchorage for the depend-ing legs 10. The electric motor 9 is also secured to the casing 5 by means of the tension springs 19.

The rotor 20 of the electric motor 9 extends through the aperture 14 in the partition 12 and has secured on the end of same a recessed disc 21 on the underside of which is provided a boss 22 into which the rotor 20 is located and secured.

To the disc 21 is secured a perforated basket 23 by means of the screws 24.

Hinged to the casing 5 by a knuckle type of hinge 25 is a lid 26 having a partition 27, in which is mounted an electric heater 28, the heating element of which is protected by the guard 29.

Slidably mounted within the upper compartment 6 of the casing 5 between the wall of the casing and the bas- 2,974,423 Patented Mar. 1%, 1961 ket 23 is a rod which is adapted to actuate an electric switch, in well known manner, whereby on the closing of the lid 26,, the electric motor switch is closed and the circuit to the motor 9 and heating element 28 completed, whilst a brake for the motor is simultaneously released. On the opening of the lid 26 the circuit to the motor 3 and heating element '28 is broken and the brake automatically applied to the motor 9 also in well known manner.

The lid 26 is provided with an inlet or inlets 30 for the passage of air into the interior of the lid around the heating element 28.

Secured to the top of the casing 5 is an inverted frusto conical shaped guard member 43 which covers the space between the rotary basket 23 and the casing 5, whilst it also acts as a deflector for any water thrown upwards during centrifuging.

Mounted within the perforated basket 23 is a stabilizer for stabilizing the basket 23, which can take the form of a hollow vertical r01 31 which is of a length slightly longer than the height of the perforated basket 23, the lower end of which may be provided with a flange 32 to secure same in the recess 33 in the disc 21. An aperture 44 is provided in the bottom of the perforated basket 23 through which water in the basket may pass and the top of the recessed disc 21.

The upper end of the rod 31 is provided with a cross slot '34 which is open at its upper end.

Fitting around the upper end of the vertical rod 31 is a relatively massive weight 35 which is dynamically balanced about the axis of rotation of the perforated basket 23 and in which is provided a cross member 36 which is adapted to engage the cross slot 34 in the upper end of the hollow vertical rod 31.

Mounted on the underside of the beforementioned Weight 35 and extending beyond the periphery of same is a closure member 37 for the basket 23, in which is provided a plurality of radial slits, the metal adjacent said slits being pressed upwards to form vanes 38 of an impeller for driving air through the rotary basket 23. Said vanes 33 can be formed and constructed in any other suitable manner.

Mounted on the beforementioned closure member 37 is a cover member 39, the peripheral edge of which is turned down to form a depending part and at the same time provide an air space between the closure member 37 and the cover member 39.

The cover member 39adjacent the weight 35 secured to the closure member 37 is flared outwardly to form a hand grip 40 for lifting these parts 35, 37 and 39 oil the top of the basket :23, an air space is also provided between the hand grip part 40 and the weight member 35 throughwhich -air is drawn, which air is forced into the rotary basket 23, whilst said cover member 39 also acts as a guard against the vanes 38 of the impeller in the closure member 37 underneath. In the event of the hand of the user coming into contact with the cover member 39, before it has stopped rotation, no injury will be caused to the user.

The hollow rod 31 secured to the disc 21 is provided with a plurality of radial holes 41 therein to permit the flow of air therethrough, which facilitates the cooling of the metal parts after the electric heater in the lid 26 of the drier as been switched olf by an independent switch, preferably some minutes before the electric motor 9 is switched 01f by the opening of the lid 26, to permit of the metal parts cooling down.

The hollow metal rod 31 assists in the clothes being packed equally around the basket 23, to efiect a balance as far as possible, before centrifuging, whilst the weighted member 35, closure member 37 and cover member 39 when rotated provide a gyroscopic action which retains the basket 23 steady in its rotation and prevents move ment of the drier on the surface on which it is standing.

'The recessed disc 21 is provided with expeller vanes- 45 for assisting the air flow through the perforated basket In operation, the lid 26 is raised and the cover for the basket 23 is removed by the hand grip 40, whereupon the clothes to be dried are loaded into the basket 23 by placing them around the inner periphery of said basket. The basket cover is then replaced, the lid 26 closed, when the brake of the motor 9 is automatically released and the switch to the circuit of the motor 9 closed. The independent switch to the heating element 28 is then closed. The basket 23 is then spun, effecting a drying of the clothes in the basket 23 by centrifugal action, the extracted Water being forced through the perforations in the basket 23 and draining onto the partition 12, thence through the aperture 15 to the spout 16.

At the same time as the basket 23 and the contents are being spun, a current of air is drawn by the impeller blades 38 through the heating element 28, where the air is heated, through the basket 23, by the expeller blades 45 where it passes amongst the clothes and through the perforations in the basket 23, and upwardly along the space between the basket 23 and the inner periphery of the casing 5, out through the outlets 30 in the compartment 6 of the casing 5, thus simultaneously subjecting the clothes in the basket 23 to a drying action due to the centrifugal force and also to the drying action of a heated air current through and around the clothes, as they are being centrifuged.

The radially disposed holes 41 in the rod 31 facilitate the passage of cool air through same, to cool said rod when the heating element 28 is switched off for the pas-' sage of cool air through the drier, to cool same before emptying.

What I claim is:

1. A centrifugal clothes drier, comprising a casing, a perforated basket rotatably mounted about a vertical axis in said casing for holding the clothes to be dried, a power unit resiliently mounted within said casing in driving connection with said basket for spinning the hasket, a central supporting member axially disposed within the perforated basket and in driving connection therewith, a closure member for said perforated basket removably mounted on said supporting member and rotatable therewith and a relatively massive member secured to the closure member, said relatively massive member being dynamically balanced about the axis of rotation of the perforated basket for stabilizing the rotation of the perforated basket when spun.

2. A centrifugal clothes drier, comprising a casing, a perforated basket rotatably mounted about a vertical axis in said casing for holding the clothes to be dried, a power unit resiliently mounted within said casing in driving connection with said basket for spinning the basket, a central supporting member axially disposed within the perforated basket and in driving connection therewith, a closure member for said perforated basket removably mounted on said supporting member and rotatable therewith, impeller vanes formed in the closure member for the perforated basket for inducing an air stream through said basket, and a relatively massive member secured to the closure member, said relatively massive member being dynamically balanced about the axis of rotation of the perforated basket when spun for stabilizing the movement thereof.

3. A centrifugal clothes drier, comprising a casing, a perforated basket rotatably mounted about a vertical axis in said casing for holding the clothes to be dried, a power unit resiliently mounted within said casing in driving connection with said basket for spinning the baskept, a central supporting member axially disposed within the perforated basket and in driving connection therewith, a closure member for said perforated basket removably mounted on said supporting member and rotatable therewith, impeller vanes formed in the closure member for the perforated basket for inducing an air stream through said basket, a cover member secured to the periphery of the closing member in spaced relationship thereto having an air inlet therein through which air passes to the impeller vanes, and a relatively massive member secured to the closure member, said relatively massive member being dynamically balanced about the axis of rotation of the perforated basket when spun for stabilizing the movement thereof.

4. A centrifugal clothes drier, comprising a casing, a perforated basket rotatably mounted about a vertical axis in said casing for holding the clothes to be dried,

a power unit resiliently mounted within said casing in driving connection with said basket for spinning the basket, a central supporting member axially disposed within the perforated basket and in driving connection therewith, a closure member for said perforated basket removably mounted on said supporting member and rotatable therewith, impeller vanes formed in the closure member for the perforated basket for inducing an air stream through said basket, a cover member secured to the periphery of the closure member in spaced relationship thereto, a concentrically disposed air inlet in said cover member having an upstanding flared peripheral flange thereto forming a hand grip for the cover member, and a relatively massive member secured to said closure member being dynamically balanced about the axis of rotation of the basket when spun for stabilizing the movement thereof, concentrically located in the air inlet in the cover member for the closure member for the perforated basket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,087,528 Oassirer Feb. 17, 1914 1,687,829 Clark Oct. 16, 1928 2,415,238 Emerson Feb. 4. 1947 2,784,500 Beaumont Mar. 12, 1957 

